The Lakes, the wind and the rain

"Billy Elliot" was just as amazing the second time around, and Grace thoroughly enjoyed it, too. "The Hobbit - The Battle of the Five Armies" wasn't really that enjoyable for me.

1. "Having reclaimed Erebor and vast treasure from the dragon Smaug, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) sacrifices friendship and honour in seeking the Arkenstone, despite Smaug's fiery wrath, and desperate attempts by the Hobbit Bilbo (Martin Freeman) to make him see reason. Meanwhile, Sauron sends legions of Orcs in a sneak attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As the fate of Middle Earth hangs in the balance, the races of Men, Elves and Dwarves must decide whether to unite and prevail - or all die."

   

The sets were marvellous, the CGI very impressive, and a lot of it was "fun", but it lacked a story, and I'm told by those who have read the book that a lot of the content was not original. The director even saw it necessary to invent a totally new female elven character, Tauriel, presumably for the sexual attraction element in a film otherwise almost devoid of women.

On Saturday, we drove up the M1 and M6 to the Lake District, stopping on the way to see Kantara, and to re-set the dehumidifier we'd realised we'd set wrong the last time we visited her. The journey was slowed considerably by very strong, gusty winds, and we took seven hours, including stops, to get to the cottage in Borrowdale.

A view from the cottage garden

There was snow on the hills when we arrived, but that subsequently got washed away by torrential rain on Saturday night. Water levels are very high - we're in a flood-plane here. Derwentwater is the highest we've ever seen it, the roads are flooded in places, and water gushes down the hillsides in swollen gills. The wind is due to be gusting up to 34 mph on Thursday; it's been strong all of the time we've been here.

But it's not stopped us getting out, and driving and walking around to enjoy the countryside, which is beautiful in any weather.

Footpath? What footpath?

Ah! Well, there's the other end of it, over there!

Happy New Year!

Well, we got the Christmas decorations up in good time this year, and the cards got posted early - I'd written them all on the boat before the beginning of December. Presents were wrapped and under the tree in good time. We were quite chuffed at our good organisation!

Christmas Day was quieter than usual. We started with church, as always. Steve and Jess had dinner with us; Nome and Ed ate out with Eddie's mum and sister, Hannah, but they came back mid-afternoon, along with Eddie's dad and brother, Rickie, and we opened presents together before playing various games, enjoying a late tea and sliding into bed late. It was a great day.

Lucky me, my presents included lots of CDs from my wish-list, several books likewise, one of which is the last of the Terry Darlington books I still hadn't read, "Narrow Dog to Wigan Pier", and another, "Fruit Flies Like a Banana: England by Canal and Classic Car" by Steve Haywood, who has a column in Canal Boat Magazine. I just had to give that a read. There were, of course, the traditional consumables amongst my presents - favourite "old fashioned"sweets (Milk Bottle Gums and Shrimps for Grace, Crystallised Ginger and Pontefract Cakes for me), superb flavoured coffees, and a wonderful Stollen. And socks! Three different types, all bought by Grace with boat life in mind; one for cold feet in bed (from which I suffer a lot during the winter), one with non-slip soles for walking around in the boat, and one pair made with goats' wool which have some remarkable qualities. Grace also gave me a large map of the entire UK inland waterways system, really useful for seeing the whole picture when planning journeys.

We both got Kindles, which will reduce the need for paper books on the boat, and be altogether more manageable. I gave Grace a light for reading in bed, but it may turn out to be too bright for those occasions when she wants to use it in the middle of the night. We're certain it'll have other uses, though.

Grace had seen this cool light while we were shopping, and I just had to get it for her...

The blocks can be stacked any way you like. It's a brilliant idea. We're looking forward to using it on Kantara, though it won't be standing up while we're on the move!

Since Christmas, we've been winding down, playing games, making soups (pumpkin, and turkey & vegetable), watching TV and not being very busy, though we do have a number of things to get done before we go back to boat life. New Year's Eve was quiet - apart from the party than Nome and Ed had! This Thursday, Grace and I are going to see Billy Elliot - the second time for me. We'll squeeze in The Hobbit at the cinema some time before then, too. We'd like to go and see Kantara, just to make sure the dehumidifier's still OK, and will probably do that on our way to the Lake District next Saturday - we're renting a cottage for a week. Maybe it'll snow!

After that, January will be almost over, and we'll be preparing to return to the boat. Let's see what 2015 has in store for us!

A very happy New Year to you all!